Iliad

"Hail," said he, "Achilles, we have had no scant of good cheer, neither in the tent of Agamemnon, nor yet here; there has been plenty to eat and drink, but our thought turns upon no such matter. Sir, we are in the face of great disaster, and without your help know not whether we shall save our fleet or lose it. The Trojans and their allies have camped hard by our ships and by the wall; they have lit watchfires throughout their host and deem that nothing can now prevent them from falling on our fleet. Zeus, moreover, has sent his lightnings on the right side, as signs [ sêmata ]; Hektor, in all his glory, rages like a maniac; confident that Zeus is with him he fears neither god nor man, but is gone raving mad, and prays for the approach of day. He vows that he will hew the high sterns of our ships in pieces, set fire to their hulls, and make havoc of the Achaeans while they are dazed and smothered in smoke; I much fear that heaven will make good his boasting, and it will prove our lot to perish at Troy far from our home in Argos . Up, then, and late though it be, save the sons of the Achaeans who faint before the fury of the Trojans. You will have grief [ akhos ] hereafter for all time to come if you do not, for when the harm is done there will be no cure for it; consider ere it be too late, and save the Danaans from destruction.

IliadBook 9, Line 225Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 9

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